Illinois had the third worst migration loss among the 50 states. | Unsplash/Handiwork NYC
Illinois had the third worst migration loss among the 50 states. | Unsplash/Handiwork NYC
Illinois finished near the bottom of a new ranking by the website Wirepoints measuring migration gains and losses among the states based on the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service.
In 2020, the Prairie State recorded a net loss of residents equaling 0.8% of its population, according to Wirepoints. That represents the third worst migration loss among the 50 states.
Wirepoints also examined the outflows and inflows of personal income resulting from the migration changes in 2020. New York sustained the worst outflow of money, $19.5 billion, or 2.5% of its total 2019 gross income, while Illinois had the third highest net money loss, $8.5 billion, after losing 101,000 people.
And because those who left Illinois in 2020 on average earned $30,600 more than those who moved into the state, the outflow of income was all the more damaging, according to Wirepoints.
The migration trends are significant because a growing population expands the tax base and increases investment, while a shrinking population means difficulties paying down debts and higher taxes, the study says.
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Ranking of 2020 Migration Gains and Losses Among States
| State | Net Gain or Loss as % of Population | Rank |
| Idaho | 2.0% | 1 |
| Montana | 1.1% | 2 |
| Arizona | 1.1% | 3 |
| South Carolina | 1.1% | 4 |
| Delaware | 1.0% | 5 |
| Nevada | 0.9% | 6 |
| Maine | 0.8% | 7 |
| Florida | 0.8% | 8 |
| New Hampshire | 0.7% | 9 |
| North Carolina | 0.7% | 10 |
| Tennessee | 0.7% | 11 |
| Utah | 0.5% | 12 |
| Vermont | 0.5% | 13 |
| Texas | 0.5% | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 0.4% | 15 |
| Georgia | 0.3% | 16 |
| Alabama | 0.3% | 17 |
| Arkansas | 0.3% | 18 |
| South Dakota | 0.3% | 19 |
| Oregon | 0.3% | 20 |
| Wyoming | 0.3% | 21 |
| Colorado | 0.2% | 22 |
| Missouri | 0.1% | 23 |
| Indiana | 0.1% | 24 |
| Kentucky | 0.1% | 25 |
| Washington | 0.1% | 26 |
| New Mexico | 0.1% | 27 |
| Wisconsin | 0.0% | 28 |
| Rhode Island | 0.0% | 29 |
| West Virginia | 0.0% | 30 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.0% | 31 |
| Michigan | -0.1% | 32 |
| Ohio | -0.1% | 33 |
| Connecticut | -0.1% | 34 |
| Iowa | -0.1% | 35 |
| Virginia | -0.1% | 36 |
| Mississippi | -0.1% | 37 |
| Minnesota | -0.2% | 38 |
| Nebraska | -0.2% | 39 |
| Kansas | -0.2% | 40 |
| New Jersey | -0.3% | 41 |
| Maryland | -0.3% | 42 |
| Louisiana | -0.5% | 43 |
| Massachusetts | -0.5% | 44 |
| Hawaii | -0.6% | 45 |
| California | -0.7% | 46 |
| North Dakota | -0.7% | 47 |
| Illinois | -0.8% | 48 |
| Alaska | -1.0% | 49 |
| New York | -1.2% | 50 |
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